Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Vote For This Shirt



There are a few reasons to like this shirt. One, that design is freaking great. Two, that design is freaking great. Three, did I mention that design is freaking great? I could go on, but I think you get the gist.

Anyway, it was done by genius artist Yvonne Quisumbing. Go here to check out the design -- and then please sign up and vote for it. Hurry hurry. :)

Thursday, February 19, 2009

It's the Pet Shop Boys, actually.



With the exception of Chris Lowe's horrendous pink wig, there is nothing about this video of the Pet Shop Boys' performance at the Brits last February 18 that doesn't make me happy. They zip through no less (and possibly a little more) than thirteen of their songs, including two from the new album Yes, and are joined onstage, appropriately enough, by Lady GaGa and Brandon Flowers of The Killers (aside from an array of costumed dancers).

The Pet Shop Boys were granted the 2009 Brit Award for Lifetime Achievement, and I say it's about time. After all, "they were to the end of the 20th century what the Beatles were to its middle." Yeah, you read that right. Read more here!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Dealing With Dylan; or, The February 2009 Issue of UNO is Well Worth Getting



So last January I got an urgent call: something about UNO magazine and how there had been a sudden staff shakeup. The upshot was that they needed to put together the February issue with breakneck haste. It had been decided that it was going to be a Music Special, so of course, that was something I was up for. We brainstormed on feature ideas, and I was so fired up I ended up writing four articles in as many days. That includes the cover story, on the dauntless Dylan Vizcarra. Here's an excerpt:
Here are a few facts about Dylan Vizcarra, the always-articulate, tattoo-sporting, devastatingly cute host of Jack TV's lifestyle program The Peep Show:

She is a cyborg of sorts, with a metal pin in her right leg—a souvenir of a recent horrific skateboarding accident that left her with a spiral fracture, a couple of scars, and a valuable life lesson (the lesson being, well... don't drink and skate).

She is the kind of person who would use words like "tomfoolery" and "shenanigans" in her writing without seeming pretentious or raising suspicions of time travel. She has also been known to invent words like "flabberfont" when the existing lexicon is insufficient.

Her real name is Karen; she has an identical twin named Karla. (All of you reading this who just had thoughts along the lines of "Oh, boy! Twice the fun!"—just put the magazine down and walk away; we don't want your kind in here.) Once upon a time, when they were both in college, Karen in La Salle and Karla in Ateneo, they decided to switch places for a day. They look so much alike that everyone was fooled—from the basketball players wishing "Karla" a happy day-after-your-birthday to the teachers who chastised "Karen" for talking too much in class and who forced "Karla" to deliver a report that she had no clue about.

I learn a few more things about her when I meet her one drizzly Thursday evening in a coffee shop on Bonifacio High Street.


Am quite proud of the story; I think it's one of my better-written profiles. The interview itself was great fun, and so was the shoot, which we did with my favorite Quarter Pounder connoisseurs, the very talented Ryan and Garovs, a.k.a. Everywhere We Shoot.

Anyway, the point of all this is: Go and get the new issue of UNO, already! Those of you who weren't inclined to ever pick up the magazine before should check it out this time, and those of you who were UNO fans already will still enjoy this. Erwin Romulo, Ramon de Veyra and I worked on it, so, you know, it must be good, har har.

As if you needed more reasons, here's a partial list of what this issue contains: an encounter between Shawn Yao (yay!) and Spider-Dan; Cynthia Bauzon on album cover designs; King Palisoc on making music videos; an interview with Aldus Santos, singing Purplechicken and author of Repeat While Fading; and best of all, NEW FICTION FROM YVETTE TAN! Aw yeah.

Saturday, February 07, 2009

I Can Read Movies!



I love these: covers for paperback novelizations that never were, done in a 60s graphic style, signs of wear and tear and all. I salute you, Spacesick! Visit his blog for the rest.

My other favorites include the Labyrinth cover and the Edward Scissorhands one. Fun and really really well done.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Sing Along to the Worst Song Medley



Hey, I know all those songs! This clip made me grin like an idiot. Particularly during the Sixpence None the Richer and "Rush Rush" moments. Thank you, Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, whoever you are.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Conch and Xandro are Married


Congratulations Conch! Photo stolen from Denise Mallabo, he he he.

Whatever I may say about the old PULP/MTV Ink office, I can't deny that I met some amazing people there -- and none more so than Conch, immensely talented Conch, who had perhaps the hardest job to do and yet was somehow the most reliable and least whiny of us all. (Well, she was certainly less whiny than me.) I have had the pleasure of working with her on a couple of publications now, and I would work with her again in a heartbeat. Unless it was on a job that required cleaning other peoples' toilets, in which case I might have to think about it.

Wait. What was my point? Oh yeah. Congratulations to Conch and Xandro, who got married last January 31! I wish them much much happiness together forever. :D